Dubrovnik

Podcast Transcript

Located on the Adriatic Sea in the southernmost part of Croatia is the city of Dubrovnik.

Founded in the 7th century, it rose in prominence and became one of the leading city-states in Europe.

It was a major competitor with Venice in the region and had complicated relations with both the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.

It was the site of one of the most brutal sieges in post-WWII Europe, and today it has become one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

Learn more about Dubrovnik and its long, complicated history on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

If you’ve ever been to Dubrovnik, you know how special a place it is. If you haven’t been to Dubrovnik, you owe it to yourself to visit someday.

Hopefully, by the end of this episode, you’ll understand some of the reasons that make it so special.

Dubrovnik, known as the “Pearl of the Adriatic,” has a remarkable history spanning over 1,400 years.

The story starts with the Slavic migration into the Balkans.

The Slavic migration to the Balkans occurred primarily between the 6th and 7th centuries, during a period of significant upheaval in the Byzantine Empire. Originating from areas in what is now eastern Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus, Slavic tribes began moving southward due to a combination of population pressure, climatic shifts, and the weakening of imperial borders caused by frequent invasions and internal instability.

Initially raiders, the Slavs gradually transitioned into settlers.

I haven’t done an episode on the Slavic migration, but it will definitely be the subject of a future episode.

According to legend and tradition, Dubrovnik was founded in the 7th century by refugees from the Roman city of Epidaurum, which is modern-day Cavtat, which was destroyed by invading Slavs.

These refugees established a settlement on a rocky island called Lave, which eventually became Ragusa, the Latin name for Dubrovnik.

Meanwhile, Slavic tribes settled on the mainland, creating a settlement called Dubrava, which means “oak grove” in Slavic. Over time, the two communities, Latin-speaking Ragusa and Slavic Dubrava, merged physically and culturally, eventually forming the unified city of Dubrovnik.

For centuries, the city maintained both names – Ragusa in the Romance-speaking world and Dubrovnik in the Slavic one.

These early settlers faced a harsh environment, but the defensible position proved invaluable. The narrow sea channel separating the island from the mainland was gradually filled in, creating the famous main street known today as the Stradun (or Placa). This engineering feat unified the two settlements and formed the heart of the Old Town we see today.

During these formative centuries, Dubrovnik was under the nominal protection of the Byzantine Empire, though it maintained considerable autonomy. The city developed maritime trade, established its first defensive walls, and began crafting its identity as a multicultural trading center connecting East and West.

By the 12th century, Dubrovnik had evolved into a city with its own local governance. This period marked the city’s emergence as a significant maritime power, though still technically under various overlords.

They were under Byzantine rule until 1204, the Venetians from 1205 to 1358, and the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom starting in 1358.

The Venetian period significantly influenced Dubrovnik’s development, introducing aspects of its legal system and governance structures. However, Dubrovnik always maintained a degree of independence, allowing it to develop its own distinctive identity.

The watershed moment came in 1358 with the Treaty of Zadar, when Dubrovnik recognized Hungarian-Croatian sovereignty while effectively becoming independent. This marked the birth of the Republic of Ragusa, also known as the Dubrova?ka Republika, which would survive for 450 years.

During this period, Dubrovnik established many of its key institutions, including the Rector as head of state, the Great Council, the Senate, and the Small Council.

The city’s aristocratic families who made up the Great Council, controlled governance through a sophisticated republican system designed to prevent any single family from gaining too much power. The Rector served for just one month at a time—an extraordinary check on individual ambition.

The 15th and 16th centuries represent Dubrovnik’s golden age. With the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, Dubrovnik adapted to the new geopolitical reality with remarkable diplomatic skill. In 1458, the Republic began paying an annual tribute to the Ottoman Sultan, securing favorable trade privileges throughout the vast Ottoman Empire.

This pragmatic approach—being Christian but maintaining good relations with the Muslim Ottomans—allowed Dubrovnik to flourish when other Mediterranean city-states struggled.

Dubrovnik earned renown for skillfully maintaining the delicate equilibrium between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire. The city developed a formidable merchant fleet that stood as a worthy rival to those of Venice and Genoa, complemented by its sophisticated shipbuilding industry centered at its arsenal, known as Orsan.

The Republic established an impressive network of trading colonies that stretched across the Mediterranean and throughout the Balkans. Financially innovative, Dubrovnik pioneered the development of maritime insurance and implemented advanced financial instruments that facilitated its commercial success.

The considerable wealth generated by these activities funded an impressive array of public works and cultural achievements. Most of Dubrovnik’s most magnificent architectural treasures date from this prosperous period.

During this time, the city expanded its defensive walls into the impressive form we see today, constructed the stately Rector’s Palace as the seat of government, and built the elegant Sponza Palace, which served administrative and commercial functions.

Religious structures flourished as well, including the Franciscan Monastery with its pharmacy, recognized as one of Europe’s oldest continuously operating pharmacies, and the imposing Dominican Monastery. The cityscape was further enhanced by numerous churches and public fountains that provided both practical utility and aesthetic beauty for residents and visitors alike.

On April 6, 1667, one of the most catastrophic events in the history of the Adriatic coast occurred when an earthquake hit Dubrovnik, marking a major turning point for the Republic of Ragusa.

Occurring around 8:00 a.m., the earthquake struck with tremendous force, destroying most of the city’s buildings and killing thousands of people. The estimated magnitude of the quake is believed to have been between 6.3 and 7.0, with its epicenter likely located near the city, possibly beneath the Adriatic Sea or in the surrounding mountains. The violent tremors collapsed churches, monasteries, palaces, and homes throughout Dubrovnik.

The Rector’s Palace, a symbol of the republic’s governance, was ruined, and the Rector himself, Simone Ghetaldi, was killed. Fires broke out in the aftermath, spreading uncontrollably through the wooden debris and reducing much of the city to ash.

The human toll was devastating, with estimates suggesting that over 5,000 of the city’s inhabitants perished, including a significant portion of the noble class and governing officials. The damage was not confined to land; the sea also reacted violently, producing waves that damaged ships and the harbor infrastructure, adding to the sense of total ruin. Dubrovnik’s famed archive, containing centuries of official records, was largely destroyed in the chaos, resulting in an immense cultural and administrative loss.

In the immediate aftermath, the Republic of Ragusa was faced with a near-total collapse of its physical and political structure. Yet, despite the overwhelming destruction, the city and its people began to rebuild.

Survivors reestablished the government and commenced reconstruction, favoring Baroque architectural styles that now define much of the city’s historic core. Nevertheless, the earthquake marked the beginning of Dubrovnik’s decline as a maritime and diplomatic power.

Here, I should note that if you look at a map, one of the things you might not notice unless you zoom in is that Dubrovnik and the part of Croatia surrounding it are not connected to the rest of the country.

This is because there is a very small strip of land belonging to Bosnia and Herzegovina, called Neum, that splits Croatia and reaches the sea.

This geographical anomaly dates back to 1699, and the Treaty of Karlowitz, which ended a war between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy and its allies, which included the Republic of Dubrovnik.

At that time, Dubrovnik voluntarily ceded Neum and the nearby area of Sutorina to the Ottomans to create a buffer zone between itself and the Venetian Republic, which had gained control of much of Dalmatia. This move was intended to preserve Dubrovnik’s independence by preventing a direct land border with Venice.

Through all the changes in the last 325 years, that bit of land has remained to this day.

Throughout the 18th century, Dubrovnik’s status declined as important trade routes shifted from the Mediterranean to the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

Centuries of Dubrovnik deftly using diplomacy to maintain its de facto independence came to an end in 1806 when Napoleon arrived at the city’s gates.

Napoleon officially abolished the Republic of Ragusa, integrating it into the Illyrian Provinces of the French Empire.

French rule brought modernizing reforms but also hardship under the Continental System. After Napoleon’s defeat, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 awarded Dubrovnik to the Habsburg Empire, and it became part of the Austrian province of Dalmatia.

It remained part of the Austrian Empire, later the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until the end of the First World War.

After the war, it became part of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became Yugoslavia in 1929.

During World War II, the city was occupied by both Italian and German forces.

In the communist era, from 1945 to 1991, Dubrovnik developed as a premier tourist destination and was no longer the seat of power that it had once been.

Things changed dramatically for the city with the dissolution of Yugoslavia.

The Siege of Dubrovnik took place between October 1991 and May 1992 during the Croatian War of Independence, when the Yugoslav People’s Army, primarily composed of Serbian and Montenegrin forces, launched an attack on the historic coastal city despite its lack of strategic military value.

The offensive aimed to demoralize Croatia and potentially annex parts of the Dalmatian coast. Dubrovnik was quickly surrounded by land and sea, and subjected to a naval blockade and continuous shelling. The bombardment caused significant damage to the city, including to its UNESCO-protected Old Town, and drew widespread international condemnation, particularly after the heavy shelling on December 6, 1991.

Although Dubrovnik had minimal military defenses, local Croatian forces and volunteers managed to hold off a ground invasion. Civilians endured months of isolation, living without regular access to food, electricity, or medical care under constant threat of attack. As international pressure mounted and Croatia gained broader diplomatic recognition, the JNA began a gradual withdrawal in 1992.

By the end of the year, Croatian forces had regained control of the surrounding region.

Since the war, Dubrovnik has been extensively restored and has become one of Croatia’s most important tourist destinations. Its well-preserved medieval architecture, historic city walls, and location on the Adriatic Sea attract millions of visitors annually.

Dubrovnik’s cultural significance continues, bolstered by its use as a filming location for television and movies, most famously as King’s Landing in Game of Thrones. It has become one of the most popular attractions in the Mediterranean.

Historically, what makes Dubrovnik unique is that it was able to obtain power and remain autonomous without having any significant military. They managed to do it via trade and diplomacy. For hundreds of years it worked…..until it didn’t.

It was also able to straddle the worlds of East and West. They co-existed with the Christian and Islamic worlds, the Catholic and Orthodox worlds, and the Slavic, and Latin worlds.

Its legacy and location along the Adriatic Sea are one of the reasons why it remains such a popular filming location and tourist destination today.